Herpetofauna of the Argentinean Impenetrable Great Chaco

KACOLIRIS FEDERICO PABLO; BERKUNSKY IGOR; WILLIAMS JORGE DANIEL

PHYLLOMEDUSA

Año: 2006 vol. 5 p. 149 - 157

1519-1397

The Impenetrable region (Northern region of the Chaco and Santiago del Estero Provinces and Eastern part of Salta Province, Argentina) is one of the biggest remnant patches of native dry forest. Herein, we present a list of amphibians and reptiles of the Impenetrable Chaco region. This work records new localities for most species and assesses if the Loro Hablador Provincial Parks are protecting a representative portion of herpetofauna richness. We surveyed the area during the spring and summer months between 1999 and 2006. We constructed a list of cited species for the Impenetrable following literature. We found 18 (64%) of the 28 previously reported amphibian species. We also found one species (Pseudis paradoxa occidentalis) not cited before for this area. We found 37 species (82%) of the 45 cited reptilian species. We found one “endangered” species (Chelonoidis chilensis); one threatened species (Boa constrictor occidentalis) two “vulnerable” species (Epicrates cenchria alvarezi and Polychrus acutirostris) and two “insufficiently known” species (Elachistochleis aff. bicolor and Stenocercus doellojuradoi).This is the first herpetofaunal survey of the P. P. “Loro Hablador” (Chaco Province). The 50 species here recorded from this park represent respectively 52 and 77 % of amphibian and reptilian species known from the Impenetrable region, therefore we think that this Park is protecting a significant number of total herpetofaunal species of the Impenetrable, including populations of vulnerable and threatened reptilian species.